Aston Villa fans had to be patient, but a fortunate own goal in the dying embers of the match at Villa Park extended Brighton’s Premier League winless streak.
The first half was a scrappy, dour affair. Although the hosts worked their way into a few promising areas, they lacked the finishing touch. Morgan Rogers came closest, but his tight-angle strike was comfortably held by Seagulls stopper Bart Verbruggen.
The highlight of the half came from Brighton’s James Milner, who made history with his substitution. He replaced the booked Carlos Baleba inside 20 minutes to make his 653rd Premier League appearance, pulling level with record holder Gareth Barry.
The second stanza followed a similar pattern, though Brighton carried more threat. Just before the hour, Emiliano Martínez produced a superb fingertip save to push Ferdi Kadioglu’s fierce effort onto the crossbar. Both managers looked to their benches for inspiration, but neither side could find a breakthrough.
Villa dominated possession late on and, just when a draw seemed certain, snatched a winner in iin the 86th minute.
Tyrone Mings’ flick took a heavy deflection off Hinshelwood and looped beyond a hapless Verbruggen – a stroke of fortune that sent the Villa faithful into raptures.
Brighton surged forward in a late rally, but couldn’t find an equaliser as Villa held on to claim all three points.
“Games are so tight, if it was 1-0 to them, everyone would say we were rubbish,” Mings told the press after the match.
“But fortunately, we got the right result.”
Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler was disappointed with the result, but gave Milner his flowers in the post-match presser.
“Although we didn’t win, it is still a special night,” he said.
“He is a role model for the young players, a top professional. He is unbelievably disciplined. It is a pleasure to work with him and we are grateful to have him in our squad, not only as a player but as a character.”
